Amazing how a little sunshine and a 3-0 win can make all things bright for a Major League Soccer team coming into its own in Seattle.

Last time the Sounders played at Qwest Field, goalkeeper Kasey Keller ripped his teammates for a lack of effort in a 3-3 draw with D.C. United.

A few weeks earlier Fredy Montero was drawing criticism for his disappearing act in the offense and there were rumblings of a lack of connection between the young Colombian and Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.

But all that seemed like ancient history Sunday as the Sounders thumped the Colorado Rapids in front of 32,526 happy fans at Qwest as Keller and his defense shut out the highest-scoring team in Major League Soccer and Montero played a beautiful game with a goal and two assists.

Montero's fancy footwork twice set up teammate Nate Jaqua for goals as the Sounders equaled their season-opening 3-0 win over New York in terms of lopsided success.

It all led to the Sounders gathering in front of the south end zone fanatics at match's end and saluting the crowd with a team-wide bow, Broadway style, before coach Sigi Schmid, Montero and others went to the rail and exchanged high-fives and autographs with their enthusiastic supporters.

Nothing like a one-sided whitewash to make all things well, starting with Montero's on-field relationship with his teammates.

"Just this last month it's gotten a lot better," said Jaqua, who assisted on Montero's goal with a header off a corner kick and then was on the receiving end of his fellow forward's passes for two second-half goals. "Those two assists he had to me were great and I knocked one on to him.

"That's what you want, two forwards working together and creating, combining and scoring," Jaqua said. "That's exactly what you want."

Montero now has scored in four straight games, improving his team-leading total to eight goals, along with six assists, after a significant dry spell following his quick start to the season.

"Montero is getting better and better every game," said Sounders coach Sigi Schmid. "Not just because he's getting goals, but just his play overall."

Schmid said the relationship and spacing between Montero and Ljungberg has greatly improved.

"It feels good," Ljungberg said. "How should I say this? I like playing with every player. There's a lot of talk about how me and Fredy connect and stuff. He's a good player, but so is Nate and Nate has played very well. I feel like I'm connecting well with all the players."

Keller was equally pleased with the effort at the other end of the field, where the Sounders posted their fifth shutout of the season and fourth at home, where Seattle is now 5-1-3.

It helped when Rapids standout Omar Cummings hit the post on a first-half penalty kick and also shot over the net on an open breakaway attempt in the 89th minute. That was part of why Schmid said it wasn't his team's most artistic win, but a win nonetheless.

Keller was thrilled with the turnabout from his team's last Qwest showing.

"No question, if you saw the effort when the ball went in the box," Keller said. "They had some dangerous plays, but we were marking people, throwing bodies at stuff, blocking things.

"It makes all the difference in the world. Other than the chance Cummings had at the very death, the second half was a truly professional performance."

Seattle improved its playoff positioning by upping its league record to 6-3-7 for 25 points under the MLS formula, third in the Western Conference.

Colorado is one spot behind Seattle in the West at 5-3-6 for 21 points, having played two fewer matches.

Montero got Seattle started in the 23rd minute, getting a foot on the ball just to the left of the goal to knock home a header from Jaqua off a Ljungberg corner. His recent hot spell has moved him into a tie for second among MLS scorers, two behind leader Guillermo Barros Schelotto of Columbus.

"Four goals in a row, that's a demonstration of me preparing, practicing, putting the effort in practice and reflecting well in the games as well," Montero said through an interpreter.

Montero returned the favor for Jaqua in the 48th minute by dropping a nice lead pass through traffic in the right side of the box, with Jaqua getting Colorado 'keeper Matt Pickens to commit and then firing a low roller into the left side of the net to make it 2-0.

And the two combined again in the 68th minute when Montero nudged a crossing pass from Sebastien Le Toux to Jaqua as he charged down the left side, with Jaqua then firing a left-footer past Pickens.

Jaqua almost had the first goal as well on the corner from Ljungberg, but Montero dove in at the last second to redirect the ball into the net. And the lanky forward nearly scored on a late breakaway as well.

"We did some good things today," said Jaqua, who now has six goals and five assists on the season.

Ljungberg also received an assist on the corner, his fourth of the year, as he successfully connected with the head of an onrushing Jaqua.

"He's a big lad," Ljungberg said with a grin, "and I try to find him."

Colorado had an excellent chance to tie the game early when Osvaldo Alonso was called for a handball after jumping up in a wall to stop a Rapids free kick with his forearms at the 33rd minute.

That ruling drew a heated reaction from Keller, who later called it "a shocking call," but Cummings hit the upper right post with his penalty kick to let the Sounders off the hook.

"Somebody looked after us on that one," said Schmid, who also felt it never should have been a penalty kick in the first place.

Seattle started the game with Sanna Nyassi at an outside midfield position instead of Steve Zakuani or Le Toux, both slowed by ankle injuries. Zakuani, who hurt himself during practice this week, wasn't on the 18-man active roster.

Le Toux, stepped on last week in New York, came on to replace Nyassi at the 67th minute and tallied an assist on Jaqua's second goal just moments later when he led the successful breakaway that made it 3-0.

Seattle lost Alonso at the 39th minute with a hip injury. Alonso, who missed two matches last month with a strained quadriceps, was replaced by Patrick Ianni.

Colorado played without leading scorer Conor Casey, who was with the U.S. national team that lost 3-2 to Brazil in Sunday's Confederation Cup final in South Africa.

The Sounders will now lose two of their own to international play, with midfielder Brad Evans joining a secondary U.S. national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament that begins July 4 at Qwest Field against Grenada.

Central defender Tyrone Marshall will be playing for Jamaica in the same tournament, thus neither will be available for Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup match in Portland or the Sounders' next MLS match against Houston on July 11.